Essex and the English Revolution: A Forgotten Episode on the Eve of Civil War
Professor John Walter, Department of History, University of Essex.
Beginning with the actions of a poor weaver in the churchyard at Earls Colne and ending with crowds, numbered in their thousands, spilling onto the streets of Colchester, this lecture explores the history of the Protestation oath, taken in Essex churches on the eve of civil war and producing the lists of names familiar to family historians. The lecture shows how ordinary Essex men and women used the oath to claim a political voice in the extraordinary events of the English revolution.
Organised by the Centre for Local and Regional History, Department of History, University of Essex.
